Uncle Ady

Adrian’s pov

“W-Why my hands? Do you have an obsession with chopping hands?”

Her instinct was clearly to refuse because of what happened at the auction. Can’t exactly blame her.

Reluctantly, she held out her hands, trembling. I sliced through the ropes, my blade cutting cleanly, exposing the angry red marks on her pale skin.

“You’re not tied anymore,” I said, rubbing the red marks. “But don’t mistake that for freedom. You run, and I’ll find you. And next time, I won’t be lenient.”

She glared at me, “Lenient? That’s what you call cutting off someone’s hand?”

“Would you rather I left you at the auction where a fat old man would have taken you to his bed tonight?”

Her voice trembled with anger, “I didn’t ask for your protection. I didn’t ask for any of this! I was supposed to leave the house and embrace my new identity and freedom.”

No, she didn’t ask for any of it. But this was mafia. We don’t run by morals because everything we do was forced by the evil this world demands. But she made me curious.

“Whether you asked or not, it’s done. In my world, weakness is exploited, and disrespect is punished. If you want to survive, you’ll stop questioning me.”

As I spoke, my eyes caught sight of something behind her, on the floor. Blood. Bright red, beneath her feet, trailing her steps in vivid prints on the marble floor.

“What happened?”

Her gaze followed mine, landing on her bare feet. The realization dawned, her expression shifting from anger to something more subdued, almost panicked. “I—I’ll clean it— Vinegar and baking soda can remove stubborn stains.”

Her first thought wasn’t about herself but about the floor. The absurdity of it struck me, but I kept my face unreadable. Her exhaustion, her pain—none of it mattered to her in this moment, except the blood staining the expensive marble?

“Stay still,” I commanded, my tone leaving no room for argument. I move and throw her over my shoulder and stride up to my bedroom.

“What the fk! Put me down!” She struggled, attempting to beat my back with her fists which were nothing but little pokes by a kid.

“Looks like you forgot what I did at the auction that you are daring to hit me.”

Her punches stopped and she stayed still.

As still as if dead.

“Bring warm water and towels to my bedroom.” I order to the servant in the corridor, noticing the weird expression. And then it stuck—

She’s barely wearing anything and this position is giving an exaggerated view of her back.

I put her down on the stairs, shrug my coat off and put her inside it, buttoning her up.

She’s so small and frail. Does she ever eat?

“W-Why are you taking me to your bedroom?”

Her suspicious tone amuses me as she struggles again when I try to throw her on my shoulder. “Behave.”

“I won’t. Don’t you dare touch me. I’ll chop off your dick and feed it to you—”

I’m already on the move, throwing her over my shoulder.

This woman’s head is somewhere else entirely. But I was genuinely surprised that a daughter of someone in our world was a virgin even at 22. That's the rarest of rare.

“Why are you not answering?”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

She’s testing my patience which I don’t like. “Everything in this house is more than your worth. I’d hate to see red stains everywhere. So be quiet.”

She muttered curses under her breath. The fire in her was still alive, as expected from Lorenzo’s daughter.

Good. She will come handy in my bigger plans while dealing with Markel.

I barely open the door to my room, and two figures run and hide behind the curtains.

Sophie and Ghost.

These two will never stop prying into my space. That’s why they probe around my room in my absence and question me about it later. Sometimes even blackmail.

She twists a little on my shoulder, “Colouring book and crayons. That’s the least expected thing to find in your room.”

That’s not mine. It belongs to Sophie who left that monstrosity on my bed.

I sat her down on the desk in my room. “Come out you two.”

Ghost stopped swishing his tail, and Sophia pulled her peeking toes under the curtain. A second later both peek their heads from the small slit, grinning like fools.

“I was missing you that’s why I came here to sleep on your bed. It’s so soft and better than mine.”

“I got you the same bed, mattress, and bedding, Soph.”

“But your fragrance was missing, Uncle Ady,” Sophie batted her lashes, the small thing that she knew melted my heart. “Who is she? Oh no Ghost DON’T—”

Elena curled herself on the desk, scurrying away from Ghost’s sniffing, her face drained of blood.

“You didn’t tell me you have an overgrown cat in your house!”

“Don’t run,” I advised, “It’ll only make him curious.”

“You should have left me at the auction, it’s better to bed a fat guy rather than ending up in a tiger’s stomach for dinner.” She moved around the desk, dropping things on it.

My OCD kicked seeing the mess.

Ghost jumped and put his paws on the desk, just inches from her, his nose twitching as he sniffed her. Then, without warning, he nudged her ankle with his massive head.

Elena yelped, stumbling backward on my chair at an odd angle.

Sophie chuckled, eyes gleaming with amusement as she ran to control Ghost. “He likes you.”

“He… what?” Elena spluttered, pointing at the tiger. “That thing just tried to eat me!”

I scratched Ghost behind the ears as the tiger let out a low, contented rumble. “If he wanted to eat you, he would have known by now. Trust me.”

“That’s not reassuring!”

“Uncle you tease,” Sophie giggled, “Who is she? Your girlfriend or my new nanny?”

Let’s not talk about nanny. They don’t stay at the job more than a week, courtesy of

Ghost who chased away everyone if Sophie disapproved.

“What are you doing here at this time of the night?”

Sophie rounds the desk and pokes Elena on cheek who was deathly still, glaring at the tiger. “So soft. Are you going to marry my uncle?”

I’m tempted to leave them here and return to my study. But Sophie will follow me until she gets answers.

“No. That’s Elena and she will be helping me and will stay here from now on.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” Elena blinks big grey eyes at me, still shivering from Ghost who won’t stop staring at her.

“We’ll see.”  I dig my phone and call the servant. These two troublemakers need to go out first, “Take Sophia and ghost back to their room.”

“Uncle Ady! It’s too early. I don’t want to sleep.”

“It’s half past twelve.”

“But—”

I give her the look that says no more words, completely aware Elena was staring at me like she found something unbelievable.

By the time I sent those two out, Elena had already made her first attempt to escape. My coat was on the floor, and she was on the balcony.